By Grayson Rainey
Mizzou Softball started off slow Friday night in the first of three games against the Ole Miss Rebels. Pitcher Jordan Weber only gave up one run, but Mizzou’s offense needed a spark after not getting any baserunners in the early stages of the contest. Ole Miss was coming off a seven game win streak and wanted to come into Columbia and snag a conference win against the Tigers. 
Cayla Kessinger of Mizzou hit a huge triple in the bottom of the 5th inning to bring in three baserunners as Mizzou got some momentum heading into the late stages of the game. Jazymn Rollin went 3-3 from the plate and hit a two-run homer that ended the game in the bottom of the 6th. This win was Mizzou’s first conference opening win since the 2016 campaign, according to the MU Athletic page. Pitching was especially key for Mizzou as Ole Miss had great hitters on the lineup in Jessica Puk and Mikayla Allee. Mizzou able to take advantage of the ample amounts of fastballs down the middle of the plate and score in runs to gain momentum. The win on Friday night was Mizzou’s third in a row after a two game series with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in February.
Mizzou will wrap up the series with Ole Miss on Saturday and Sunday, and then travel to St. Charles, Missouri on Wednesday and play the Illinois Illini. Head Coach Larissa Anderson has stressed to her team that they need to be competitive even on Sundays, with more and more teams trying to play their best in the middle part of the season. Mizzou’s next series against an SEC conference opponent is next weekend versus Auburn. 
Edited by Emma Moloney | [email protected]